Income tax filing and payment deadlines: CRA and COVID-19
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- Extended filing and payment deadlines
- Penalties and interest relief for extended deadlines
- Processing delays for T1 paper returns - file online instead
Extended filing and payment deadlines
You will not be charged late-filing penalties or interest if your 2019 individual (T1) income tax returns are filed and payments are made prior to September 1, 2020. However, we are preserving the June 1 filing deadline for T1 individuals, and the June 15 filing deadline for T1 self-employed individuals (sole-proprietors), in order to encourage filing returns in time to accurately calculate benefits, which rely on 2019 tax returns for entitlement calculation.
If the 2019 tax return is not assessed in time, benefits and/or credits for the July to September 2020 payments will be based on information from 2018 tax returns. Once the 2019 return is filed, it is possible that the CRA will make adjustments based on the updated income information.
Notes
- There have been equivalent extensions to filing deadlines for certain corporations and trusts as of May 20, 2020. These extensions generally align with the September 1, 2020 payment deadline previously established.
- Some taxpayers may have received a Notice of Assessment that says the deadline for payment is April 30, 2020, which is incorrect.
- On May 15, it was announced that eligible Canadians who are presently receiving the Goods and Services Tax/Harmonized Sales Tax (GST/HST) credit and/or Canada child benefit (CCB) payments will continue to receive these payments until the end of September 2020. Benefit payments starting in July 2020 and those scheduled for August and September won’t be interrupted.
- Due to the change in the tax deadline from April 30 to June 1, 2020, we expect many will need to take advantage of the extended deadline. Therefore, if the 2019 tax return is not assessed, and to allow time to calculate benefits and/or credits for the July to September 2020 payments, payment amounts will be based on information from 2018 tax returns.
- If you receive an estimated benefit and/or credit payment based on your 2018 tax return(s), you’re still required to file your 2019 income tax return.
- If we’re unable to assess your return by early September 2020, your estimated benefits and/or credits will stop in October 2020 and you’ll have to repay the estimated amounts that were issued to you starting in July 2020.
Individuals – Deadlines
| Filing date for 2019 tax year | June 1, 2020 Extended date The CRA is seeking T1 returns from individuals by June 1, 2020 in order to ensure accurate federal and provincial benefits payments. |
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| Payment date for 2019 tax year | September 1, 2020 Extended date Penalties (including late-filing penalties) and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. Includes the June 15, 2020, instalment payment for those who have to pay by instalments. |
Deceased individuals – Deadlines
| Filing date for 2019 tax year | June 1, 2020 Extended date |
|---|---|
| Payment date for 2019 tax year | September 1, 2020 Extended date Penalties (including late-filing penalties) and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. |
| Filing date for current tax year | The later between June 1, 2020 or six months after their day of death |
|---|---|
| Payment date for current tax year | The later between September 1, 2020 or six months after their day of death. Penalties (including late-filing penalties) and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. |
Self-employed and their spouse or common law partner – Deadlines
| Filing date for current tax year | June 15, 2020 Unchanged The CRA is seeking T1 returns by June 15, 2020 for sole proprietors in order to ensure accurate federal and provincial benefits payments. |
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| Payment date for current tax year | September 1, 2020 Extended date Applies to balances and instalments under Part 1 of the Income Tax Act due on or after March 18 and before September 1, 2020. Penalties (including late-filing penalties) and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. |
Deceased self-employed individuals – Deadlines
| Filing date for 2019 tax year | June 15, 2020 Unchanged |
|---|---|
| Payment date for 2019 tax year | September 1, 2020 Extended date Penalties (including late-filing penalties) and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. |
| Filing date for current tax year | The later between June 15, 2020 or six months after their day of death |
|---|---|
| payment date for current tax year | The later between September 1, 2020 or six months after their day of death Penalties (including late-filing penalties) and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. |
Corporations – Deadlines
| Filing date for 2019 tax year | June 1, 2020 Extended date Applies to corporations that would otherwise have a filing due date after March 18 and before June 1, 2020. September 1, 2020 Extended date Further extended as of May 20, 2020 Applies to corporations that would otherwise have a filing deadline in June, July, or August 2020. |
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| Payment date for 2019 tax year | September 1, 2020 Extended date Applies to balances and instalments under Part I of the Income Tax Act due on or after March 18 and before September 1, 2020. |
Trusts – Deadlines
| Filing date for current tax year (including the associated T3 information return) |
May 1, 2020 Extended date Applies to trusts with a tax year end date of December 31, 2019 June 1, 2020 Extended date Applies to trusts that would otherwise have a filing due date on March 31, or in April or May 2020. September 1, 2020 Extended date Further extended as of May 20, 2020 Applies to trusts that would otherwise have a filing due date in June, July, or August 2020. |
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| Payment date for current tax year | September 1, 2020 Extended date Applies to income tax balances and instalments due on or after March 18 and before September 1, 2020 Penalties and interest will not be applied if returns are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. |
Charities – Deadlines
| Filing date | December 31, 2020 Extended date Applies to charities with Form T3010 due between March 18, 2020 and December 31, 2020 |
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| Payment date | Not Applicable |
Part XIII non-resident tax – Deadlines
| Filing date for the 2019 NR4 information return | September 1, 2020 Extended date |
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| Payment date | The 15th of each month following an amount paid or credited by residents of Canada to non-resident persons. Unchanged |
Payroll remittances – Deadlines
| Payment date | See Payroll page for filing deadlines. Unchanged |
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Information returns, elections, designations and information requests – Deadlines
| Filing date for 2019 information returns under Part XVIII and Part XIX of the Income Tax Act | September 1, 2020 Extended date |
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| Filing date for the 2019 T5013 Partnership Information Return | May 1, 2020 Extended date |
| Filing date for the 2019 NR4, Statement of Amounts Paid or Credited to Non-Residents of Canada information return | September 1, 2020 Extended date |
| Other information returns, elections, designations and information requests |
June 1, 2020 Extended date Unless otherwise noted, applies to other information returns, elections, designations and information requests that would have been due after March 18, 2020, and before June 2020. September 1, 2020 Extended date Further extended as of May 20, 2020 Unless otherwise noted, applies to other information returns, elections, designations and information requests that are due. Penalties and interest will not be applied if information returns, elections, designations, and information requests are filed and payments are made by September 1, 2020. The waiver of penalties and interest for 2019 T1 individual returns and trust returns described above also applies to form T1135 and any elections, forms and schedules that must be filed with the return, provided that they are filed by September 1, 2020. For 2019 T2 corporate returns, the extension of the filing deadline applies for all purposes. In particular, the extension also applies to form T106, T1135, and any elections, forms and schedules that must be filed with the corporate return. |
Penalties and interest relief for extended deadlines
Penalties and interest will not be charged if payments are made by the extended deadlines of September 1, 2020. This includes the late-filing penalty as long as the return is filed by September 1, 2020. Penalties and interest relief will be considered on a case-by-case basis for income tax balances that are not listed above.
Processing delays for T1 paper returns – file online instead
Temporary measures for T1 paper returns and adjustment requests – file online instead
CRA is experiencing significant delays in processing paper income tax and benefit returns.
File your 2019 taxes online by June 1, 2020 and register for direct deposit to get refunds faster and avoid interruptions to benefit and credit payments.
Submit your requests for changes electronically, using Change My Return in My Account or ReFILE. If you have already submitted a request to change your return by mail that has not been processed yet, you may be able to submit it again electronically.
Temporary measure for paper returns
If you already filed a 2019 paper return that has not been processed yet, you can file it again online using NETFILE certified tax software. This does not include returns that the software says must be paper-filed or returns that are excluded from electronic filing.
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